quarta-feira, 1 de maio de 2013

Today is
Wednesday and I’m sure a lot of you, school students, are very happy because
it’s a holiday in the middle of the week. And you should be... it’s a very good
pause, a moment to relax and enjoy this day, specially because it’s a very
sunny and bright day! But a holiday is also a good moment to reflect about its
meaning and why it is so important...at least the celebration is important
enough to give us a holiday.

But
before sharing some thoughts with you, let’s get something straight:

- LABOR
Day is commemorated in USA. It’s an American federal holiday observed on the
first Monday in September, that celebrates the economic and social
contributions of workers.

- LABOUR
Day, for many countries, is synonymous with, or linked with, International
Workers' Day, which occurs on May 1st and it is a national holiday in more than
80 countries and celebrated unofficially in many other countries. It is an
annual holiday to celebrate the achievements of workers. In Brazil, like in
India and most of the other countries, most offices, banks, schools, etc.
remain closed since itis a public
holiday. Labour Day has its origins in the labour union movement, specifically
the eight-hour day movement, which advocated eight hours for work, eight hours
for rest, and eight hours for recreation.

﻿

But is it
a real achievement? I mean, it must be official and well written in some
document, but how many people do you know that enjoy 8 hours for recreation? Or
sleep 8 hours a day? As I know a lot of teachers, I know that many of them work
8 hours (sometimes even more) per day, but when they go home, the other 8 hours
are also used to keep on working (researching some topics, correcting tests,
checking the student’s work, preparing classes, etc.) It sounds crazy! But I
also know that it’s not a teacher’s privilege. There are many other workers who
have an 8-hour work journey and after that keep on working at home, thinking
about what they have done, what they are going to do next day or even working
at their computer (or as people like to say it, working at their home office).

Workers
didn’t have this right before and it was a hard work to achieve it...and now
that we have the right of have a balanced life, where work, leisure and rest
has the same importance, we act as if we didn’t have it . If it was so
important before, the question is...what has really changed in our modern life
that it’s not taking it into consideration anymore? What has really changed in
our modern life that it’s not taking it into consideration what we have
achieved in the past?

Post Question for the students:Are you an organized person? Do you have your routine elaborated in a balanced way? Do you plan your day? Can you study (in school) 8 hours, sleep 8 hours and spend 8 hours doing what you like? If you can, how do you organize your day? If you can not, what could you do, what changes would be the necessary to improve your routine and afford you great satisfaction and a more balanced day?

Quem sou eu

Professora de Inglês que graças a profissão se tornou uma cidadã do mundo que acredita piamente em duas coisas: lar é onde o coração está e que a educação é a chave para um mundo (bem) melhor!
I'm an English teacher that thanks to this profession became a world citizen who strongly believes in two things: home is where the heart is and that education is the key to a (much) better world!